Work Text:
Willa knows how to absorb the spotlight, to be the center of attention at a party, how to do the dirty work no one else wants to do. She even remembers back when Mariposa was a moon in her orbit, the strange fairy she'd chosen to be her best friend, who stayed out too late and too far from the lights.
And now that everything's reversed, she's finding the adjustment more difficult than expected. Sure, Mariposa would still rather spend her time around books than people, and Willa has to drag her out of the library to eat at least once every week, but she's different. More willing to come out of her shell, happier with her visits to Shimmervale. Mariposa's outgrown her, and Willa isn't quite sure how to feel about that.
-----
Prince Carlos is re-examining his place in the world. He's always chafed under the duties of royalty: the guards, the traditions, the tangible barrier that stood between him and any commoner. When Mariposa came along and shattered that, it felt like the whole world was open before him.
He could work alongside her in the library, pursue his love of painting - maybe even travel the world! His mother had only really chosen him as successor because he knew how to power Flutterfield's lights, taught to him in long lectures on the nature of magic that Carlos snuck books into to read under his desk.
Mariposa took to that like a Flutterpixie to sparkles - and now Carlos has what he's wanted for so long. Freedom: now that it's here, he's not sure what to do with himself.
-----
They're an unlikely pairing: the prince and the assistant. Carlos and Willa find each other in the space between - banter in a dark skeezite-filled swamp, buried under book crates in the library. They clash and bicker, disagree and curse. But Carlos remembers how his heart leapt with joy when Willa saved them all from Henna's first wave, and Willa remembers a hand on her shoulder when they were overwhelmed taking care of the library.
When Mariposa next sees them together, a lunch with them and Catania, Willa and Carlos greet each other with a kiss. And it makes more sense to them than anything in the world.